UC Irvine celebrated Friday morning its first of 12 commencement ceremonies taking place over the next few days.
Chancellor Howard Gillman conferred degrees on nearly 700 graduates of the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences as more than 4,000 guests watched inside the Bren Events Center. In his address to students, he commended their determination.
“Graduates, consider your journey — all those years of dreaming, aspiring, planning, so many long days and late nights,” Gillman said. “Historic challenges to overcome, the setbacks that you pushed through, persisting through every adversity — an epic journey, a very high mountaintop to climb, and here you are. Take a moment to appreciate the magnitude of your accomplishment.”
Those historic challenges include the COVID-19 pandemic that led to the cancellation of many of these students’ high school graduations, and, more recently, a war in Gaza that has inspired student activism around the world during their final year of college.
Keynote commencement speaker for the School of Education, Compton College President Keith Curry — a UCI graduate — acknowledged the war in his speech which was mostly about encouraging young people to work hard to build and maintain sincere personal and professional relationships.
“We bear witness to the crisis in Gaza and the suffering of millions, a pain that we feel in our communities right here at home,” he said, drawing applause from the audience.
Graduates Sara-Ann Zheng, left, Stephanie Kim, center, and Emily Nguyen film themselves moving their tassels after receiving their Masters of Arts in Teaching degree during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate Jinjia Peng celebrates during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate Zhong Wang celebrates with friends and family after the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduates Joselyne Cruz, left, and Isabella Rofsky hold up the anteater sign as they chant, “Zot, zot, zot” during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduates Claire Baumert takes a picture with ethics professor Jeff Johnston during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduates Madeline Isabella Harrison, right, and Sierra Kay Waterman, join their classmates during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate Jamie Bao Tran Vuong dons a decorated cap during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate Ok Joo Yoo, left, acknowledges the crowd as they enter the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate Mariah Encinas acknowledges the crowd during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate Amber Liang dons a decorated cap during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Chancellor Howard Gillman speaks to graduates during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate Brooklyn Rose Bermudez, left, acknowledges the crowd during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduates Devyn McCune during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A graduate waves to the crowd during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate Kendra Mitchell waves to the crowd during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate Priscilla Lee waves to the crowd during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate Eve Combs joins classmates as they enter the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduates enter the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate Amorri Ramon, center, joins Aniyah Lee, left, and Tamia Lee, as they hold up the anteater sign after the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A graduate celebrates during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate John Engel acknowledges the crowd during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The crowd acknowledges graduates during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate Giselle Perez celebrates during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduate Sona Mercado makes a heart during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
GraduateYolanda Li waves to the crowd during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Graduates hold up the anteater sign as they chant, “Zot, zot, zot” during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A graduate tries to disrupt the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences as she holds a sign that says, “UCI DIVEST FROM GENOCIDE” at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A graduate tries to disrupt the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences as she holds a sign that says, “UCI DIVEST FROM GENOCIDE” at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Chancellor Howard Gillman speaks to graduates during the UCI commencement ceremony for the School of Education and School of Physical Sciences at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Protesters folder a sign that reads, “FREE PALESTINE” after hanging it from a bridge over Mesa Road during a UCI commencement ceremony at the nearby Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Protesters hold a sign that reads, “FREE PALESTINE” on a bridge over Mesa Road during a UCI commencement ceremony at the nearby Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Protesters hold a sign that reads, “FREE PALESTINE” on a bridge over Mesa Road during a UCI commencement ceremony at the nearby Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The war in Gaza has created a tense mood on UCI’s campus in recent months, especially since UCI students constructed a makeshift Palestinian solidarity encampment near the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall in late April. After a group of activists barricaded themselves inside that building on May 15, UCI called upon over 20 local law enforcement agencies to come to campus in riot gear and clear the building as well as the growing encampment with hundreds of students around it.
That afternoon, 47 people were arrested, and since then, students and faculty groups have expressed concern that the administration’s response violated the community’s rights to free speech and assembly.
In recent weeks, student activist groups have called for Gillman’s resignation while picketing around the campus administrative building and outside his private residence. The graduate student government approved a vote of no confidence against him, and UCI graduate student teachers and researchers joined a statewide strike against the UC system over complaints they have with how administrators at various UC campuses handled Gaza protests.
While an Orange County judge temporarily restrained the strike last week, a state investigation continues into claims of unfair labor practices. Meanwhile, UCI faculty called for an independent investigation into the Gillman administration’s handling of the encampment and, amid commencement ceremonies, met Friday afternoon to continue discussions over how to proceed with that.
All of this led to speculation whether UCI’s commencement ceremonies would be disrupted by protest, but for the most part, Friday’s early ceremony was not.
Around noon, a small group of students unfurled a couple of “Free Palestine” banners from the campus’ arts bridge.
“While students and families celebrate graduation today, we want to make it unignorable that our brothers and sisters in Palestine have no graduation to celebrate,” a student with the UCI Divest group said in an Instagram Live video. The group is calling on UC Irvine to divest funds tied to assets related to Israel.
A UCI security guard told the group they had to remove the banners because they were over a roadway, and they complied.
Before ceremonies began, the university displayed a message on the big screen at the Bren Center saying that UCI respects and values freedom of speech, including the lawful freedom of protest, but a protestor whose actions interfere with the ceremony will be warned and, if they continue to interfere, escorted out of the venue.
“Protest is welcome so long as it does not unduly interfere with the ability of the speaker to deliver the message or the ability of the audience to receive the speaker’s message,” the notice read, with a link to university policy concerning the disruption of university activities.
During the ceremony, a couple of students engaged in brief acts of protest while walking across the platform with UCI dignitaries.
UCI graduate students pass a vote of no confidence against Chancellor Howard Gillman
A chemistry graduate student shouted “Free Palestine” as he walked across the stage before shaking hands with Dean James Bullock. Another graduate received loud cheers as she waved a black and white checkerboard keffiyeh, a symbol of Palestinian autonomy, over her head. And, from the stage, one graduate unfurled a banner that read “UC divest from genocide,” also receiving loud applause. She once more displayed the banner during the recessional.
Gillman was received by the crowd with light applause, and his speech was not interrupted.
This academic year, UCI will confer more than 11,000 degrees.
“This graduating class highlights how well UC Irvine is serving the people of our state by offering a world-class education to the best and brightest students, regardless of their financial circumstances, and acting as a powerful engine of upward economic mobility,” Gillman said in a statement.
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